DATE: September 23, 2008
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday, September 26, launching construction on PACCAR Hall, the first phase of a new home for the University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business.
UW President Mark Emmert, PACCAR Inc Chairman and CEO Mark Pigott and Foster School of Business Advisory Chair Lex Gamble were among the speakers joining Foster School Dean Jim Jiambalvo to celebrate the official groundbreaking.
“When the doors of PACCAR Hall open, we expect to see a continual stream of business leaders interacting with our students and faculty” said James Jiambalvo, dean of the Foster School. “A state of the art facility designed for LEED certification, PACCAR Hall will be the training ground for the business leaders of tomorrow.”
Several hundred students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and friends were on hand to celebrate. The project will add more than 130,000 square feet of state-of-the-art classrooms, breakout rooms, computer labs, a 250-seat auditorium, a café and atrium. The building was designed by Seattle-based LMN Architects.
“We're excited and honored to collaborate with the University of Washington and the Foster School of Business on this transformative project," said George Shaw, partner at LMN Architects. "The design of PACCAR Hall embraces the highly interactive dynamic of modern business education, and weaves together its wide range of educational and business communities.”
The $95 million project is being privately funded through donations from numerous individuals and organizations, including an $18 million gift from PACCAR Inc and the Mark Pigott family.
The speakers, joined by Sally Foster, UW Regent Christie Blake and Rick Redman of Sellen Construction, ended the celebration by moving the first shovels of earth at the construction site. The building is expected to be completed in 2010.
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